As electronics become increasingly sophisticated, portable, and available, consumer markets are demanding more services from products and associated systems. In particular, battery charging systems have remained at a low technology level for some time, and only recently has attention been focused on such systems. In addition, products are becoming more interconnectable, that is, products are designed to connect to other devices to provide more functionality to a given system. For example, wireless modems are sold for use with portable computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
A typical desktop battery charger simply provides one or two battery receiving pockets and charger contacts to mate with battery contacts. The charger includes a power supply, a regulator, and a control circuit which work in conjunction to charge batteries inserted in the charger. In some cases, particularly portable computers, the charger may also act as a power supply for the product. Many such products include an internal charge controller that takes the power from an external power supply or charger and charges an internally mounted battery. The charger does not offer a means by which the device may connect to other devices. Portable computers, by virtue of their size, have ports for connecting with peripheral devices, however, smaller products, such as cellular telephones and PDAs, have very limited space for such connector ports.
One of the more significant advantages afforded by state of the art electronics is the ability to receive, store and generate information in portable electronics. For example, hand held scanners are commonly used to take inventory of shelf stock in grocery stores. These devices read a code number corresponding to the specific product, then the user enters a count of the number of units on the shelf by means of a keypad or similar entry device. This information is later transferred from the electronic device to a central computer system so that an inventory report can be generated.
Therefore there exists a need for providing connectivity between electrical devices while powering the devices and charging batteries for use with the devices.